Category: Business

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Are you goal oriented or process oriented? ​​

Do you get excited by the end goal or do you take the time to enjoy the journey.

Although I like to have a Big Hairy Audacious Goal, I actually get most pleasure from the things I learn on the journey. 

This was brought home to me as I tend to relax by watching something easy on TV just before bed (currently on season 4 of Stargate SG1 if you’re interested) and I’ve recently taken up crochet again to keep my hands occupied while my brain is gently slowing down. 

I’ve chosen a simple pattern for a cardigan as my goal. I haven’t crocheted regularly for decades so a few days later I was about 20 rows in before realising that my tensions were all wrong and the garment would end up at least 20% too big for me. That’s assuming that it will ever be good enough for me to wear anyway. 

As with business problems I went back to my primary motivation to decide what to do. My true purpose was to occupy my hands and the time already spent was a ‘sunk cost’ irrespective of my next action.   The solution was obviously to start again and reuse the wool with nothing lost except time. 

But that time wasn’t wasted! I had learned things from the first attempt that will make the second turn better. I have remembered how to crochet, I will watch the tension more closely and measure earlier and, if all else fails, I will have a third attempt with a smaller needle or rework the pattern to aim for a smaller size. 

Business is the same. It may seem a little more important with more at stake but there’s often a simple way to rescue an apparent disaster (just ask some of my coaching clients how much better they feel after we’ve worked through a gnarly problem together) and lots of learning to be had along the way, 

What’s the biggest problem in your business at the moment? 

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World Entrepreneurs’ Day

I’m writing this on World Entrepreneurs’ Day and, although you’ll be reading it a little later, it’s definitely something worth celebrating.  

So put something fizzy in the fridge because we’re about to play the Entrepreneurs’ Drinking Game. 

As you may know I currently run three businesses* (with two successful exits behind me). In order to make constant progress it’s essential to focus on the future and what’s next. How else can you move forwards? This comes at the cost of reflections and we rarely pause to appreciate how far we’ve come.  

This is why I encourage entrepreneurs to enter awards. Even if preparing a draft application it forces you to review how far you’ve come. This gives you a different perspective on your journey.  

So open your laptop now for a quick check in and compare where you are now with your business 12 months or 5 years ago. Take the time to enjoy your wins, appreciate what you’ve already achieved, and maybe spot more opportunities for growth (we are entrepreneurs after all 😉) 

  • How is your turnover looking? 
  • How is your profitability (despite rising costs) 
  • Do you have a good team around you? 
  • How is your general business network? 
  • How much of your day to day work is automated? (Did I just catch you thinking about what still needs to be automated? Remember to look back on what you have already done!) 
  • How have your working hours changed? 
  • How is your work-life balance generally? 

Take a sip for everything that has moved forward in your business.  

Share your successes with me. I always like to hear when (and how) others are doing well. And, if your business hasn’t moved forward the way you hoped, just reply to this email with HELP NEEDED and I’ll show you how we can make progress together. 

Here’s to celebrating your journey. 

*Details of my current businesses if you’re curious: 

  1. Minerva Accountants provide the usual accountancy services plus Clarity business advice sessions
  2. Hudson Business Advice is a consultancy offering speaking, writing, and coaching services to help accountants and small business owners to run a better business 
  3. Minerva Technology is a small fintech which is more of side hustle as it has a single app in development (at the moment) 
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Why we love Xero  

At Minerva Accounts most of our clients are on Xero.

I chose this back in 2012 after an abortive attempt to move to the cloud with another software provider. Back then Sage and Quickbooks were still providing great desktop software but hadn’t really made any viable inroads into cloud software. At that time Xero stood head and shoulders above their competitors (in my opinion)

Roll forward to 2025 and the gap has now closed. I still think Xero is the best all rounder for small businesses under £10million turnover but I’m not in a hurry to migrate business owners who are happy with a different product. We’re accountants who act in the best interests of our clients; not software resellers.

The advantage of focusing on one software is that we can all learn it inside out and even make it sing and dance (that may be an exaggeration but do try typing a sales invoice with the description ‘I want a Unicorn!’ if you want t smile) If clients are better served by another software, due to either functionality or their personal preference, we refer them to another accountant. We NEVER force businesses to move to Xero just for our convenience.

Take a look at the new Xero Simple for MTD which is just £7 per month. You get a lot of the functionality of big Xero but for a fraction of the price.

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How can I find clients?

Many a business starts up with a great idea believing that, as in the Field of Dreams film, if they build it, he will come. Then the harsh reality comes that the founder is also responsible for sales and marketing (as well as finance!)

Here are my thoughts on sources of leads in order of the quality of clients the seem to generate

  1. Referrals – looks at your existing clients and have a process for requesting referrals. A referral usually means that you are pre-qualified with a personal recommendation. Obviously a startup doesn’t have any existing clients so this isn’t usually possible.
  2. Networking – building personal relationships with referrers, or ensuring that your existing networks (friends, family, school gates, gym, etc) all know what you do means that introductions will come with a personal approval even if they don’t quite understand your business. Networking takes 6-12 months to become fruitful but you might get lucky as I’ve been approached by a new client the first time I went to one group.
  3. Social media – this is getting harder since covid when everybody took to the airwaves but we used to generate 1/3 of our business this way. Don’t just post good quality content but turn up and interact with people. Treat it as online networking and take time to build relationships rather than advertise.
  4. Mailshots – With paper post becoming rarer it is easier to stand out this way. If you are selling to other businesses then you can obtain a list from Companies House. Make sure that you send something that makes you stand out.
  5. E-mailshots – generate your own lists rather than buying them in as there are some really poor quality lists for sale. It’s a crowded space and harder to stand out.
  6. Facebook and google ads – these are better for those selling to consumers rather than businesses but worth a try. They generate rather a lot of spam but it’s worth doing through a social media business that understands the systems.

How else have you had success generating business clients?

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Meeting contacts for contracts

Love it, or hate it, networking can be good for your business but it isn’t an instant sales opportunity. 

Networking is about spending time together to get to know each other, like each other, and eventually to trust each other enough to take the relationship further.  

Sound a bit like dating? 

You need to be prepared to take your time. Marriages are rarely based on love at first sight and neither are good quality clients. Waving a condom around as you greet your blind date is unlikely to get you the outcome that you want and business networking rarely generates instant sales. 

There are two main types of networking group.  

The closed groups where visitors are welcome but membership is selective. In these groups it is easier to build trust as you get to see the same people on a regular basis. Regular visitors ensure that the group doesn’t become stale as one member might invite a colleague who can benefit from an introduction to somebody else in the group. Done right the members of the group begin to share access to each other’s contacts as appropriate. We belong to the We Mean Biz network in the SouthWest. We also like to introduce our clients to each other for mutual benefit. 

There are also open groups where the attendee list can be much more varied but the visitors often come and go before anybody can get to know them. These are a bit more like speed dating. To get the best out of these groups it is important that you follow up any suitable leads with a one to one meeting over coffee (or tea!). This can be a bit like kissing a lot of frogs to find your prince or it can lead to some great business connections. 

I would usually recommend a mixture of both so perhaps join one closed group and then visit some other local groups each month. 

If you’d like more information about We Mean Biz then drop me a line or check out their website We Mean Biz – Business Networking Where You Come First – We Mean Biz 

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The importance of delegation 

Some people find it easier to delegate than others. I’m one of the former, perhaps because I find it easier to find people who are better than me? 😉 But it is also important to be able to stand back and let them get on with things while ignoring the temptation to micromanage.

I’ve written and spoken elsewhere about HOW to delegate so I’ll address WHY it is important for you to delegate.

  • Moving away from hands on work allows you to remove yourself from the business in order to focus on strategy and business improvements. You can’t see the view from the bridge if you’re busy shovelling coal in the engine room.
  • It empowers your employees and enables them to step up (using you’re your training, procedures, and checklists) and maybe even step beyond your current standards
  • It allows your team to develop more skills themselves and even to add new skills to the team
  • It improves team productivity and efficiency. Get the right pegs in the right holes instead of trying to do everything yourself, irrespective of whether it’s in your area of expertise or not
  • Spreading the workload allows you to reduce your personal stress and avoid burnout

So, sit back, relax, and delegate.

A couple of extra bits that caught my eye:

New supercomputer in Bristol UK’s most powerful supercomputer Isambard-AI comes online – BBC News

ICAEW Q2 Business Confidence Monitor (regional updates will follow) UK Business Confidence Monitor: National | ICAEW

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How to automate your business processes 

Start by identifying the most repetitive tasks, or the repetitive steps of larger tasks.  For us that is the accounts production, bookkeeping, onboarding new clients, and chasing client records. 

Choose the best tools for you. This may not be the same as for another business. For instance, we wouldn’t use the same tools as a large accountancy practice as we have fewer clients, a smaller team, and our clients’ needs are much simpler. 

We use (mainly) Xero for our client bookkeeping which means that we can use Hubdoc, Apron, or Dext for our clients to upload their invoices digitally. XeroTax fits smoothly onto our Xero clients or we use Xero Ledger for those clients not already on Xero. We have two different working papers for limited or unincorporated clients. The danger with small clients is that the checking can often take longer than the actual accounts production so we try to simplify this as much as possible. Onboarding, and the interminable task of chasing clients for records, is done through Bright Manager. 

Train your team to use the software. Xero provides free training and certification for accountants which enables us to get the most out of the software. We create our own training videos for clients. Bright Manager has some training but we rely more on our own internal videos. 

In line with our continuous improvement mindset we keep trying to get more out of our existing automation and to keep an eye out for other automation that can help us. 

Automation is great but never forget to have a human being available when necessary. 

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Your business isn’t your family

Okay, some of us run a family business, but it should still be run along professional lines.

Employees may underperform and you will need to follow your disciplinary procedures to bring them back in line. You may even need to sack them if they are more of a liability than an asset so make sure that you do everything legally. Employees may leave you for better pay, conditions, or opportunities. Or you may need to make their positions redundant if you need to reorganise the business or make cutbacks if the business is underperforming.

While many clients will become friends yours is primarily a business relationship. Why would you offer ‘mates rates’ when your mates should be supporting you to set up your new business? Would they give up part of their salary as willingly as you drop your prices? You may need to be disciplined about only answering business queries during working hours and not in the middle of your sister’s wedding. Real friends wouldn’t want to spoil your free time.

Clients may leave if they feel the grass is greener on the other side in terms of price or services. Similarly we need to charge commercial prices to everybody and to increase those in line with inflation each year.

If you treat your business as a business and your friends as good employees or good clients then you will be able to offer a much better service overall. If you have to sell yourself cheap or accept poor standards to keep their friendship then are they really friends?

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Time Management Tips for Entrepreneurs 

If you’re managing a business then you probably have 101 tasks requiring your attention even if you have delegated as much as you can. 

  1. Schedule tasks in your calendar. Knowing how long each task will take will help you to understand what is realistically achievable 
  1. Prioritise tasks based on importance and urgency. We use internal deadlines to ensure that we’re not running up against important external deadlines but also to keep internal projects on track 
  1. The way to eat an elephant is one mouthful at a time. Break larger tasks into smaller, bite-sized steps. This seems less daunting but it may also be possible to fit a smaller task in around larger ones so that you make forward progress. 
  1. Avoid multitasking to maintain focus. Easier said than done! I often flit around when I have ‘too many’ tasks on my list and end up achieving nothing as I stop-start each task multiple times. 
  1. Set aside specific times for checking emails and messages. I do a quick triage each morning and then answer emails and call backs from 4pm (unless I’m doing the flitting around in 4 above!) and all of Monday is to clear leftover bits. 

I’d love to hear what works for you. Any habits or apps to recommend? 

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How to achieve work-life balance as a business owner 

You may have started your business with the intentions of having a better work-life balance or for some other reason and the work is now taking over your life. If so here are a few tips. 

  1. Set clear boundaries between work and personal time (and place). I find it helpful to clear my desk each evening and to ensure that I actually log off my computer (it’s also better for keeping your software updated) 
  1. Prioritise tasks – you’ve probably already seen the matrix of urgent vs important where you start with the tasks that are urgent AND important 
  1. Delegate where possible – be aware of how much you could earn in an hour and delegate everything possible to somebody with a lower hourly rate. This might be a virtual assistant, a junior member of the team, or even buying in help at home. 
  1. Schedule regular breaks – I always block out an hour for lunch and an alarm to finish working at the end of the day. My need for tea ensures that I take regular breaks to make another drink (or go to the loo after drinking so much!) 
  1. Schedule holidays – I start each year by blocking off the last week of March, June, September, and December as well as a week around my birthday. I sometimes need to change these dates nearer the time but it means that I don’t book meetings in when I expect to be away. 
  1. Practice mindfulness or other stress management techniques – I don’t meditate but I do enjoy running and letting my brain unwind. It’s how I originally got into triathlons 
  1. Create a flexible work schedule that works for you and your life – this isn’t just for the business owner as all our team have this option 
  1. Monitor KPIs around this – I track my weekly working hours and also my profit per hour. 

What are your top tips for work-life balance